Making a Succulent Terrarium

Whenever I'm struck with writer's block, I always seek out things to distract me. Having a pretty green terrarium offers the perfect visual break to my keyboard. Especially in wintery D.C. where bone-chilling cold has me longing for the dry desert of the American Southwest. I've been wanting to make a terrarium for a while, and this turned out to be be super easy.

1. Find a jar, plants. I had this leftover large glass jar lying around the apartment (no idea what it once contained) and while on a Home Depot run to fix a broken toilet, I made a spur of the moment purchase of five baby succulents at only $2 each.
Tip: Avoid the "flowering cactus", turns out they just glued the flower to a live baby cactus, which is just so wrong. Plants are either real or fake, not both.

2. Like Parfait. So making this is like making a layered yogurt and fruit parfait. You add a rock layer on the bottom for drainage (I hope the Co-op won't notice some missing drainage rocks on the roof of my complex).
Put in handfuls of potting soil, and arrange the succulents as you like. It's nice to tier them like you would a group photo. Short ones in the front. Lightly pack more soil around the plant to firm it's position.

3. The Trimmings. Now add any cute little kitsch items you have laying around this house. I happened to have a dolphin, a plastic cat (that looks like it's trying to break free) and a jade turtle. Cover and enjoy.

As for upkeep, I'll keep you posted, but since they're succulents they don't need a lot of water, so I just mist it every so often with a mister. And whenever I open the lid, I smell Arizona.